$8000 Is Time Running Out For This Credit?

$8000 Is Time Running Out For This Credit?

If you haven’t purchased a home yet is it too late now to buy a home and receive the “First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit? If you are a first time home buyer (haven’t owned a home in the last three years) time is running out. You must locate, put under contract, obtain financing, appraisal, inspections, and close on the loan by November 30, 2009. Can it be done? Yes there is still time but the time to act is now. What steps need to be taken?

1) Pre-qualification with a mortgage lender is critical. Your Realtor® will have suggestions on who can move quickly to obtain a loan. I have a couple of lenders that I work with that can turn an FHA loan around in as little as two weeks. Not all lenders can do this so check with your lender to see how quickly they can do this if you are applying for an FHA loan.

2) Find a Realtor® or get in touch with a Realtor® you already know, and ask them to begin sending you listings. Give them the criteria you are looking for. Some of the criteria you will want to give them are, price range (this will be determined by consulting with your lender) , number of bedrooms, bathrooms, approximate sq. feet, style, neighborhood, school or school district. Other things that may be important to you could be a fenced yard, garage, RV parking, corner lot, not on a busy street, and many other options. look for homes here: http://www.servingsaltlakecity.com/

3) Locate a property. Remember time is short, make sure your Realtor® is doing all they can to narrow down the choices to show you properties that match your criteria. If the criteria are too tight there may not be very many choices so prioritize which of your criteria are most important, and know which are needs, and which are wants. The perfect home most likely doesn’t exist; there will need to be some give and take. At this point there are homes to avoid if you want to buy in time to receive the tax credit: Short Sale homes that are not price approved, (the approval process can be lengthy). Recently some of the price approved short sale and bank owned homes are receiving multiple bids, they also can take awhile for responses, and there is no way to know if you are going to win the bidding wars.

4) Make an offer, get accepted, your Realtor® will walk you through the process. When making an offer you will need to have your earnest money ready to present with your offer. It is also becoming more important to provide a pre-qualification letter with the offer. (your lender should provide this to your Realtor®

5) Under Contract, once you are under contract there are several people that become very important to the process: Lender, Realtor®, Title Company, appraiser, and possibly a home inspector. Your Realtor® should coordinate the process with your lender, and title company. The lender will order the appraisal. A home inspection can help to give you a better idea of the condition of the home. They can check for foundation problems, a/c, heating, plumbing, electrical, structural, drug testing, radon, mold, settling, and many other tests as needed or requested. Your Realtor® should have some recommendations on Home inspector.

6) Settlement. The title company checks for chain of title, liens against the property, or those parties included in the transaction. In Utah settlement takes place at the title company. This includes the signing of the loan documents and any other documents required by the lender, payment of any additional funds (down payment). You will need to have the funds in a cashier’s check, along with your identification such as a driver’s license or other legal picture I.D.

7) Closing. Closing is when the funds have been transferred and the deed has been recorded at the county recorder’s office. Once closed in most cases the buyer can take possession of the home unless other times were specified in the real estate purchase contract.

8) It is time to move in to your new home and enjoy the benefits of being a home owner. If your loan closes before November 30th 2009 and you are a first time home buyer you can also file an amended tax return and request the tax credit up to $8000.

Real Estate rules vary by state. The rules or suggestions in this post are for the state of Utah, Check with your Realtor for your area. This post is an opinion of the writer and should not be construed as legal advice. Pre-qualification is not guaranteed,